Golf notebook: Shorter Hart showing some heart

The key to Jeff Hart's success: Try less and less.

After shooting Fox Chapel Golf Club's second-lowest score Friday at 5-under 65, Hart said he wasn't necessarily swinging that well on the course. He simply stopped thinking about his game, and said "let it go."

"Basically, I don't feel like my game's all that good," Hart said. "I'm changing my swing every other hole out there like I normally do."

Hart finished his second round at the Constellation Senior Players Championship at 7 under 133, and walked off the course as the clubhouse leader. Hart was one of 15 golfers to finish the second round, before rain Friday postponed the remainder of play.

While Hart said his game isn't substantially better, his numbers Friday prove otherwise. He hit 13 of 14 fairways in regulation and had seven birdies.

While fairways were an easy target for Hart, he frequently was leaving his drives short, often driving the ball around 230-240 yards with a foot or so of roll. The course played so long for Hart, that irons weren't a common option for him. Instead, the fairway wood would be his companion.

"Some of the holes were playing very long for me," Hart said. "I'm hitting it so short."

While Hart birdied the par-5 second hole, a common score for the field, he also birdied the par-3 third, which isn't so routine.

Hart continued his strong opening, as he birdied five of the first nine holes, reaping the benefits of an early tee time and soft greens from rain Thursday, which began to firm up Friday as the day went on before more rain fell.

But Hart does have the advantage of only having to play 18 holes today, as 66 golfers in the field will have to begin their day at 8 a.m., where they left off Friday.

Hart was only 1 under on his final nine holes, as his spot near the top of the leader board made it harder for Hart to not really think about his play. With a Saturday and Sunday that should have Hart in competition for the lead, a "thoughtless" game will only grow tougher to accomplish.

"That's the challenge," Hart said of "letting it loose" into the weekend. "That's the issue for me."

Playing in his first Champions Tour tournament, Colin Montgomerie was disappointed Thursday, when he finished the first round tied for 21st.

He was unsatisfied with his putting, which led him to a first-round 1-under 68.

But Friday, Montgomerie came out of the gates a little warmer. He birdied four of his first seven holes, although he did bogey the par-3 sixth.

After playing 12 holes before the rain, Montgomerie finished the shortened day 4 under for a tie for 10th, a much better position to make a move over the final two days of the tournament.

Second-round leaders or co-leaders have won just 12 of the previous 30 Constellation Senior Players Championships. It also has happened just twice in the past 14 years -- Loren Roberts in 2007 and Fred Couples in 2011. The biggest climb to champion in tournament history happened in 2006, when Bobby Wadkins came from 30th place to win the event.

Source: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/golf/golf-notebook-shorter-hart-showing-some-heart-693609

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Former Qatari PM drove bold, maverick foreign policy

By Regan Doherty

DOHA (Reuters) - The manager of Qatar's rise to global prominence, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, used charm, tenacity and economic clout to broker peace and topple dictators overseas and build an investment nest-egg for future generations at home.

Sheikh Hamad was replaced as prime minister and foreign minister in a cabinet reshuffle announced on Wednesday, following the accession of 33-year-old Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani as emir.

There was no immediate word on whether he would retain his job as vice chairman of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), a sovereign wealth fund with assets believed to be $100-200 billion, although Qatar watchers expect him to keep that job.

During his two decades as foreign minister, Qatar hosted the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East but also cozied up to America's foes Iran, Syria and Hamas in pursuit of leverage. Last week the Afghan Taliban also opened an office in Doha.

At the heart of Doha's rise to international limelight was a decision made early on in the rule of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani to end a tradition of automatic deference to Saudi Arabia, the dominant power in the Arabian peninsula.

The independent-minded policy that resulted saw tiny Qatar punch well above its weight in world affairs, striding the stage as a peace broker, often in conflicts in Muslim lands.

The country's boldness contributed to Qatar's success as a regional mediator - Doha developed an ability to engage almost everyone from the United States to Hezbollah, and even eventually Saudi Arabia, an old foe and regional powerbroker.

Qatar's unusual foreign alliances amazed its friends and astounded its critics. For example, it went further than most of its neighbors in establishing contacts with Israel, although these were later ended.

PERSONAL WEALTH

Alongside foreign policy, Sheikh Hamad's role at the QIA has given him authority over its numerous acquisitions, which in recent years included London department store Harrods, Singapore's Raffles hotel and stakes in German sports car maker Porsche and Barclays bank.

He owns personal stakes in many Qatari companies, including Qatar Airways as well as Project Grande (Guernsey), the developer of London's One Hyde Park project and several hotels in Doha; his personal wealth is estimated to be in the billions.

"He has been one of the primary architects of the Qatar project, along with the emir. His practical domestic influence has been second to none," said David Roberts, director of the Royal United Services Institute based in Doha.

"He has also been an extremely effective salesman of Qatar, and has helped boost its cache abroad tremendously."

Sheikh Hamad, appointed foreign minister in 1992, played a key role in facilitating the 1995 coup in which his cousin, the country's outgoing Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, seized power from his father.

For this, he appears to have been rewarded with influence for life.

"Hamad bin Jassim will be very difficult to replace, largely because he was an extremely charismatic figure. He brought a distinct charisma and energy, the intangible qualities of what it takes to be a truly good diplomat," said Michael Stephens, researcher at the Royal United Services Institute based in Doha.

Named prime minister in 2007, Sheikh Hamad played a personal role in facilitating Qatar's numerous conflict resolution efforts, brokering talks in conflicts ranging from Lebanon to Yemen and Darfur to the Palestinian territories.

In 2007, he brought the Lebanese government and Hezbollah-led opposition to Qatar for talks to try to resolve a broader political showdown that had paralyzed the country for more than a year, helping to end the worst internal fighting in Lebanon since the country's civil war.

In 2009, he helped broker a peace agreement between the government of Sudan and the country's Justice and Equality Movement, helping to largely quell the conflict in Darfur.

ARAB SPRING

Sheikh Hamad also promoted the Arab Spring, in which Qatar lent significant support to rebels fighting Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi by supplying them with weapons and fuel.

The state has also been Egypt's top financial backer, signaling an intention to play a leading role in rebuilding the economy of the most populous Arab country after a 2011 uprising.

Some officials in other Gulf Arab states believe Qatar has a long-term strategy to use the Muslim Brotherhood, an international movement that seeks to bring about Islamist rule in Muslim states through peaceful means, to redraw the region.

In March, Sheikh Hamad for the first time publicly dismissed allegations of any partiality to the Brotherhood.

"The Ikhwan (Brotherhood) was not in power when we visited Egypt and gave $2 billion. It was under the rule of the military, actually. We were there before there were elections," he told a news conference.

"We have been accused of trying to buy Egypt. Egypt is bigger than our money."

Qatar's energetic support for Syria's rebels has been criticized by some Western and Gulf Arab officials for handing arms and cash indiscriminately to militant Islamists who want a Sunni Islamist state in Syria.

Qatar says it simply wants Assad removed from power and the killing of civilians stopped. But some analysts say its support for the rebels may crimp its ability to present itself as an honest broker in future conflicts.

"After the conflict in Syria, Qatar cannot any longer pose like this in the Arab world," said Neil Partrick, a Gulf security expert.

(Reporting by Regan Doherty, Yara Bayoumy and Amena Bakr, Writing by William Maclean, Editing by Jon Hemming and Mike Collett-White)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/former-qatari-pm-drove-bold-maverick-foreign-policy-172833156.html

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Kerry: deeply troubling if Snowden allowed to flee

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry smiles as he asks a reporter to repeat a question during a news conference with Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid, not pictured, at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India on Monday, June 24, 2013, during Kerry's first visit to India as secretary. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry smiles as he asks a reporter to repeat a question during a news conference with Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid, not pictured, at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India on Monday, June 24, 2013, during Kerry's first visit to India as secretary. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, meets with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the prime minister's residence in New Delhi, India on Monday, June 24, 2013, during Kerry's first visit to India as secretary. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

NEW DELHI (AP) ? U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that it would be "deeply troubling" if Russia or Hong Kong had adequate notice about Edward Snowden's plans to flee to a country that will grant him asylum and still allowed him leave.

Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor and a self-admitted leaker of state secrets, fled from Hong Kong to Moscow on Sunday after the U.S. moved to extradite him to face espionage charges. He was expected to seek political asylum in Ecuador.

He was booked on a flight from Moscow to Cuba on Monday, but he was not seen on the plane. It was unclear where he was or where he was he was trying to go, Kerry said. The U.S. has revoked Snowden's passport.

"We don't know, specifically, where he may head, or what his intended destination may be," Kerry said, responding to a question during a news conference in New Delhi where he was discussing bilateral issues between the U.S. and India.

He also was asked about whether the Snowden incident would affect the U.S. relationship with China and Russia.

"It would be deeply troubling, obviously, if they had adequate notice, and notwithstanding that, they make the decision willfully to ignore that and not live by the standards of the law," Kerry said.

"There is a surrender treaty with Hong Kong and if there was adequate notice ? I don't know yet what the communication status was. But if there was, it would be very disappointing if he was willfully allowed to board an airplane ... and there would be, without any question, some effect and impact on the relationship and consequences. With respect to Russia, likewise."

The United States does not have an extradition treaty with Russia, but does with Cuba, Venezuela and Ecuador. Even with an extradition agreement though, any country could give Snowden a political exemption.

In the past two years, the U.S. has transferred seven prisoners to Russia that Moscow wanted, he said. "I think reciprocity and the enforcement of the law is pretty important," Kerry said, but he did not identify the law he was referencing.

Kerry also noted the countries involved in the incident.

"I suppose there is no small irony here. I mean, I wonder if Mr. Snowden chose China and Russian assistance in his flight from justice because they're such powerful bastions of Internet freedom, and I wonder if while he was in either of those countries he raised the question of Internet freedom since that seems to be what he champions."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-06-24-AS-Kerry-Snowden/id-8e503bdd0713459aa6a6ece01f92b3c3

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Hunger affects decision-making and perception of risk

June 25, 2013 ? Hungry people are often difficult to deal with. A good meal can affect more than our mood, it can also influence our willingness to take risks. This phenomenon is also apparent across a very diverse range of species in the animal kingdom. Experiments conducted on the fruit fly, Drosophila, by scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried have shown that hunger not only modifies behaviour, but also changes pathways in the brain.

Animal behaviour is radically affected by the availability and amount of food. Studies prove that the willingness of many animals to take risks increases or declines depending on whether the animal is hungry or full. For example, a predator only hunts more dangerous prey when it is close to starvation. This behaviour has also been documented in humans in recent years: one study showed that hungry subjects took significantly more financial risks than their sated colleagues.

Also the fruit fly, Drosophila, changes its behaviour depending on its nutritional state. The animals usually perceive even low quantities of carbon dioxide to be a sign of danger and opt to take flight. However, rotting fruit and plants -- the flies' main sources of food -- also release carbon dioxide. Neurobiologists in Martinsried have now discovered how the brain deals with this constant conflict in deciding between a hazardous substance and a potential food source taking advantage of the fly as a great genetic model organism for circuit neuroscience.

In various experiments, the scientists presented the flies with environments containing carbon dioxide or a mix of carbon dioxide and the smell of food. It emerged that hungry flies overcame their aversion to carbon dioxide significantly faster than fed flies -- if there was a smell of food in the environment at the same time. Facing the prospect of food, hungry animals are therefore significantly more willing to take risks than sated flies. But how does the brain manage to decide between these options?

Avoiding carbon dioxide is an innate behaviour and should therefore be generated outside the mushroom body in the fly's brain: previously, the nerve cells in the mushroom body were linked only with learning and behaviour patterns that are based on learned associations. However, when the scientists temporarily disabled these nerve cells, hungry flies no longer showed any reaction whatsoever to carbon dioxide. The behaviour of fed flies, on the other hand, remained the same: they avoided the carbon dioxide.

In further studies, the researchers identified a projection neuron which transports the carbon dioxide information to the mushroom body. This nerve cell is crucial in triggering a flight response in hungry, but not in fed animals. "In fed flies, nerve cells outside the mushroom body are enough for flies to flee from the carbon dioxide. In hungry animals, however, the nerve cells are in the mushroom body and the projection neuron, which carries the carbon dioxide information there, is essential for the flight response. If mushroom body or projection neuron activity is blocked, only hungry flies are no longer concerned about the carbon dioxide," explains Ilona Grunwald-Kadow, who headed the study.

The results show that the innate flight response to carbon dioxide in fruit flies is controlled by two parallel neural circuits, depending on how satiated the animals are. "If the fly is hungry, it will no longer rely on the 'direct line' but will use brain centres to gauge internal and external signals and reach a balanced decision," explains Grunwald-Kadow. "It is fascinating to see the extent to which metabolic processes and hunger affect the processing systems in the brain," she adds.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/V5hlnSiuhhE/130625073802.htm

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Lil Snupe Shooting Suspect Turns Himself In

Tony Holden put himself in police custody on Tuesday (June 25) for fatally shooting Meek Mill's signee.
By Maurice Bobb

Tony Holden and Lil Snupe
Photo: Winnfield Police Dept./ Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709579/lil-snupe-death-suspect-police-custody.jhtml

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U.S. justices send affirmative action case back to lower court

By Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday avoided a major ruling in a closely watched racial case on the affirmative action admissions policy at the University of Texas at Austin by sending the case back to a lower court.

The court, on a 7-1 vote with Justice Elena Kagan not taking part, said an appeals court did not apply the correct standard in deciding whether the Texas policy violated the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection.

In doing so, Justice Anthony Kennedy made it clear that the program is not on solid legal ground and could still be overturned.

When the case returns to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, the university "must make a showing that its plan is narrowly tailored to achieve the only interest that this court has approved in this context," Kennedy wrote.

Under court precedent, that means a program that takes into account a broad array of qualifications and characteristics "of which racial or ethnic origin is but a single though important element."

The Supreme Court avoided making a decision on whether to overturn a 2003 precedent in a ruling written by the now-retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor that let universities use race in admissions as one factor among others that make particular applicants more desirable.

The court's composition has become more conservative since that decision in Grutter v. Bollinger, which upheld the University of Michigan Law School's affirmative action program.

The University of Texas at Austin fills most of its freshman classes by granting automatic admission to in-state students in the top 10 percent of their high school classes. The policy was introduced to improve minority enrollment without falling foul of restrictions on affirmative action.

The case against the university was led by Abigail Fisher, a white suburban Houston woman who said that her race kept her from being admitted and that the top 10-percent rule was enough to improve diversity.

Texas countered that the rule did not result in the admission of enough minorities.

Fisher later graduated from Louisiana State University.

The University of Texas and its supporters contended that universities must have the flexibility to consider race to ensure diversity. Opponents said it is time to eliminate racial preferences, which they say are unconstitutional.

Justice Elena Kagan, believed to be a supporter of affirmative action, recused herself from the Fisher case, presumably because she had worked on it as U.S. solicitor general under President Barack Obama.

For decades, dating back at least to the John F. Kennedy administration of the 1960s, U.S. leaders have struggled with what "affirmative action" should be taken to help blacks and other minorities. In the early years, it was seen as a way to remedy racial prejudice and discrimination. In more recent times, it has been seen as a way to bring diversity to campuses and workplaces.

Since 1978, the Supreme Court has been at the center of disputes over when universities may consider applicants' race. In that year's groundbreaking Bakke decision from a University of California medical school, the justices forbade quotas but said schools could weigh race with other factors.

The case is Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin et al, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 11-345.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Howard Goller and Will Dunham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-justices-send-affirmative-action-case-back-lower-142619755.html

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Scottie Pippen: Arrested For Assault Following Restaurant Fight

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/06/scottie-pippen-arrested-for-assault-following-restaurant-fight/

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DWP to build groundwater treatment plants on Superfund site

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power plans to build the world's largest groundwater treatment center over one of the largest Superfund pollution sites in the United States: the San Fernando Basin.

Two plants costing a combined $600 million to $800 million will restore groundwater pumping of drinking water from scores of San Fernando Valley wells that the DWP began closing in the 1980s, the utility said. The plants also will ensure that other wells remain open despite pollution plumes steadily migrating in their direction.

The plans mark a major shift at DWP, reversing a trend of recent decades in which the utility has offset diminishing use of groundwater with imports from Northern California and the eastern Sierra.

"By 2035, we plan to reduce our purchases of imported water by half," said James McDaniel, the DWP's senior assistant general manager.

The shift is necessary because environmental restrictions in the Sierra have reduced those imports and because the cost of water from the north has risen sharply ? 84% over the last decade.

The San Fernando Basin accounts for more than 80% of the city's total local water rights, but because of contamination plumes of toxic chemicals including hexavalent chromium, perchlorate, nitrates and the carcinogen trichloroethylene, only about half of its 115 groundwater production wells are usable.

At the current rate of migration of pollutants, the city would be unable to use most of its groundwater entitlements in the basin within five to seven years, forcing it to buy and import more expensive water from the Metropolitan Water District, DWP officials said.

One treatment center will be built on DWP property in North Hollywood just north of Vanowen Street, between Morella and Hinds avenues. It will process three times as much water per second as the world's largest existing groundwater treatment facility, officials said. The DWP will build a second, slightly smaller center near the intersection of the 5 and 170 Freeways.

Construction is to begin in five years, said Marty Adams, director of water operations for the DWP. The DWP hopes to have both centers operating by 2022, producing about a quarter of the 215 billion gallons the city consumes each year.

The cost of the treatment centers will be largely borne by ratepayers, backed by municipal bond sales and spread out over 30 to 40 years, McDaniel said. The size of the rate increase for the project has yet to be determined, and the utility said it expects to field many questions from public officials and customers as the plans move forward.

Part of the cost will be offset by reducing demand for more expensive imported water and from financial compensation under the federal Superfund laws, which requires payments by parties responsible for contamination.

Over the last decade, local groundwater has provided about 11% of the city's total supplies, and nearly 30% in drought years. About 36% came from the Los Angeles Aqueduct system in the eastern Sierra Nevada and 52% from Metropolitan Water District supplies pumped from Northern California.

This year, amid ongoing drought conditions, the Los Angeles Aqueduct system is conveying less water from the Sierra than at any time since it was built in 1913.

Environmental organizations welcomed news about the treatment plants.

"The key thing is that Los Angeles is looking ahead. With climate change, we can no longer rely on snow in the Sierra Nevada range to be our reservoir," said Lenny Siegel, spokesman for the Center for Public Environmental Oversight.

Conner Everts, executive director of the Southern California Watershed Alliance, said environmental organizations have wanted to recharge the aquifer with more storm water and other sources "but DWP said it wasn't possible because of the pollution."

"It's exciting that the DWP is finally moving forward with greater reliance on local water supplies," Mark Gold, associate director of UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, said. "However, it's long overdue. Could they have done this five years ago? Yes."

The basin's groundwater was contaminated primarily by improper storage and handling of chlorinated solvents, including trichloroethylene, also known as TCE, which was widely used after World War II to degrease metal and electronic parts. The solvents were dumped into disposal pits and storage tanks at industrial plants and military bases, where it seeped into the aquifer.

Other contaminants came from automobile repair shops and junkyards, unlined landfills, dry cleaners, paint shops, chrome plating businesses and historic dairy and agricultural operations.

The EPA determined in 2011 that TCE can cause kidney and liver cancer, lymphoma and other health problems.

The public can be exposed to TCE in several ways, including by showering in contaminated water and by breathing air in homes where TCE vapors have intruded from the soil. TCE's movement from contaminated groundwater and soil into the indoor air of overlying buildings is a major concern.

The DWP is currently drilling monitoring wells throughout the region to identify as many contaminants as possible and develop strategies for removing them, said Susan Rowghani, director of DWP's water engineering and technical services. Each contaminant will require its own specialized purification process.

For example, the current process for removing TCE is to pump water to the top of an aeration tower and, as the water flows back down, use an upward blower to send a countercurrent through it. TCE becomes trapped and is vaporized into a controlled airstream that is then filtered through activated carbon to ensure that it is not released into the atmosphere.

louis.sahagun@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/zM0vP7YJbow/la-me-water-20130624,0,6429248.story

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Google Mine service reportedly leaked, lets Google+ friends share real goods

Google is big on sharing all things virtual, but it hasn't done a lot to spread the wealth in the physical world. That could change soon: Google Operating System claims to have spotted an in-development Google Mine service that can simplify lending tangible goods. Users can list what they're sharing, offer items to their Google+ circles and keep track of who has what. The web version can reportedly show a collection in 3D through a WebGL viewer named Katamari, and there's also an Android app in tow.

The feature set sounds ideal for generous Google+ users; the real question is whether we'll get to use any of it. Mine is supposedly limited to internal testing for now, and only some of Google's initiatives ever leave its campus. Google hasn't confirmed the effort, but the company tells us that it's "always experimenting" with features and doesn't have anything to share "at this time." Connected borrowers will just have to be patient, then -- assuming the service launches at all.

Filed under: Internet, Google

Comments

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Google Operating System

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/xnnyfywo8zU/

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No word from Hong Kong on Snowden's return

The front cover of a local magazine shows Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about sweeping U.S. surveillance programs, in Hong Kong Saturday, June 22, 2013. Hong Kong was silent Saturday on whether the former National Security Agency contractor should be extradited to the United States now that he has been charged with espionage, but some legislators said the decision should be up to the Chinese government. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

The front cover of a local magazine shows Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about sweeping U.S. surveillance programs, in Hong Kong Saturday, June 22, 2013. Hong Kong was silent Saturday on whether the former National Security Agency contractor should be extradited to the United States now that he has been charged with espionage, but some legislators said the decision should be up to the Chinese government. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

This photo provided by The Guardian Newspaper in London shows Edward Snowden, who worked as a contract employee at the National Security Agency, in Hong Kong, Sunday, June 9, 2013. The man who told the world about the U.S. government?s gigantic data grab also talked a lot about himself. Mostly through his own words, a picture of Edward Snowden is emerging: fresh-faced computer whiz, high school and Army dropout, independent thinker, trustee of official secrets. And leaker on the lam. (AP Photo/The Guardian) MANDATORY CREDIT

A security guard stands in front of the Police headquarters in Hong Kong Saturday, June 22, 2013. Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, believed to be holed up in Hong Kong, has admitted providing information to the news media about two highly classified NSA surveillance programs. It is not known if the U.S. government has made a formal extradition request to Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong government had no immediate reaction to the charges against Snowden. Police Commissioner Andy Tsang, when was asked about the development, told reporters only that the case would be dealt with according to the law. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

David Medine, chairman of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, is seen in front of the White House in Washington, Friday, June 21, 2013. President Barack Obama held his first meeting Friday with the board in the White House Situation Room. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Edward Snowden, the former government contractor who says he revealed that the National Security Agency collects Americans' phone records and Internet data from U.S. communication companies, now faces charges of espionage and theft of government property.

Snowden is believed to be in Hong Kong, which could complicate efforts to bring him to a U.S. federal court to answer charges that he engaged in unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information.

In addition to those charges, both brought under the Espionage Act, the government charged Snowden with theft of government property. Each crime carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Hong Kong was silent Saturday on whether Snowden should be extradited to the United States now that he has been charged, but some of Hong Kong's legislators said the decision should be up to the Chinese government.

The one-page criminal complaint against Snowden was unsealed Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Va., part of the Eastern District of Virginia where his former employer, government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, is headquartered, in McLean.

The complaint is dated June 14, five days after Snowden's name first surfaced as the person who had leaked to the news media that the NSA, in two highly classified surveillance programs, gathered telephone and Internet records to ferret out terror plots.

It was unclear Friday whether the U.S. had yet to begin an effort to extradite Snowden from Hong Kong. He could contest extradition on grounds of political persecution. In general, the extradition agreement between the U.S. and Hong Kong excepts political offenses from the obligation to turn over a person. Hong Kong could consider the charges under the Espionage Act political crimes.

Hong Kong had no immediate reaction to word of the charges against Snowden.

The Obama administration has now used the Espionage Act in seven criminal cases in an unprecedented effort to stem leaks. In one of them, Army Pfc. Bradley Manning acknowledged he sent more than 700,000 battlefield reports, diplomatic cables and other materials to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. His military trial is underway.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, welcomed the charges against Snowden.

"I've always thought this was a treasonous act," he said in a statement. "I hope Hong Kong's government will take him into custody and extradite him to the U.S."

But the Government Accountability Project, a whistle-blower advocacy group, said Snowden should be shielded from prosecution by whistle-blower protection laws.

"He disclosed information about a secret program that he reasonably believed to be illegal, and his actions alone brought about the long-overdue national debate about the proper balance between privacy and civil liberties, on the one hand, and national security on the other," the group said in a statement.

Michael di Pretoro, a retired 30-year veteran with the FBI who served from 1990 to 1994 as the legal liaison officer at the American consulate in Hong Kong, said "relations between U.S. and Hong Kong law enforcement personnel are historically quite good."

"In my time, I felt the degree of cooperation was outstanding to the extent that I almost felt I was in an FBI field office," di Pretoro said.

The U.S. and Hong Kong have a standing agreement on the surrender of fugitives. However, Snowden's appeal rights could drag out any extradition proceeding.

The success or failure of any extradition proceeding depends on what the suspect is charged with under U.S. law and how it corresponds to Hong Kong law under the treaty. In order for Hong Kong officials to honor the extradition request, they have to have some applicable statute under their law that corresponds with a violation of U.S. law.

Hong Kong lawmakers said Saturday that the Chinese government should make the final decision on whether Snowden should be extradited to the United States.

Outspoken legislator Leung Kwok-hung said Beijing should instruct Hong Kong to protect Snowden from extradition before his case gets dragged through the court system.

Leung urged the people of Hong Kong to "take to the streets to protect Snowden."

In Iceland, a business executive said Friday that a private plane was on standby to transport Snowden from Hong Kong to Iceland, although Iceland's government says it has not received an asylum request from Snowden.

Business executive Olafur Vignir Sigurvinsson said he has been in contact with someone representing Snowden and has not spoken to the American himself. Private donations are being collected to pay for the flight, he said.

"There are a number of people that are interested in freedom of speech and recognize the importance of knowing who is spying on us," Sigurvinsson said. "We are people that care about privacy."

Disclosure of the criminal complaint came as President Barack Obama held his first meeting with a privacy and civil liberties board and as his intelligence chief sought ways to help Americans understand more about sweeping government surveillance efforts exposed by Snowden.

The five members of the little-known Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board met with Obama for an hour in the White House Situation Room, questioning the president on the two NSA programs that have stoked controversy.

One program collects billions of U.S. phone records. The second gathers audio, video, email, photographic and Internet search usage of foreign nationals overseas, and probably some Americans in the process, who use major Internet service providers, such as Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Yahoo.

___

Associated Press writer Jenna Gottlieb in Reykjavik, Iceland, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-06-22-NSA%20Surveillance/id-2b6b55c2903c402f8788608692aa7dd5

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Kings of Leon, Paramore and more added to the iTunes Festival lineup

We're still a few months out from Apple's annual iTunes Festival in London, but the lineup continues to grow with the latest big name acts confirmed as Kings of Leon and Paramore. UK music fans can apply for tickets for these, and all iTunes Festival concerts easily via the official app downloadable from the App Store or from iTunes on your computer.

Besides these two, Vampire Weekend, Rizzle Kicks and Sigur Ros also join the line up that boasts some already huge name artists. The iTunes Festival runs through the month of September at the Camden Roundhouse in North London, and all concerts will be available to view on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple TV.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/nveDM2jUUh4/story01.htm

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AIR puts insured losses from German floods at up to EUR 5.8 Billion ...

Risk modelling firm AIR Worldwide has released an estimate for insured losses in Germany resulting from the recent flooding events across Central Europe. AIR estimates insured losses in Germany to be between ?4 billion and ?5.8 billion, that?s up to $7.7 billion in USD. The flood event is ongoing so any insured loss estimates could rise.

The overall economic loss impact from the floods is expected to be much higher due to low take up of flood cover in some affected regions.

?An extraordinarily wet May and several days of heavy and relentless rainfall in June have resulted in the worst flooding to hit parts of central Europe in many years,? commented Yorn Tatge, managing director of AIR Worldwide GmbH. ?Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic have suffered the brunt of the flooding, the worst since the Elbe flood of 2002,?but Switzerland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland have also been affected.?

AIR?s estimate is higher than the one issued by Fitch, who said German insured flood losses could reach ?3 billion. AIR said that the 2002 river Elbe floods, which affected a smaller area than this years event, would cause approximately ?5 billion in insured losses or more at todays values accounting for changes in flood insurance penetration and the growth in stock and values of buildings.

Tatge added; ?Floodwaters hit Germany hardest, particularly the east and south German states of Thuringia, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Lower-Saxony, and Bavaria. Several levees along the Elbe River near Magdeburg, the capital of Saxony-Anhalt state, were breached or in danger of a breach as flood water rose more than 16 feet above normal. In Passau, located at the intersection of the Danube, Inn, and Ilz rivers, floodwaters hit their highest level since 1501, while the Saale River in Halle, Germany, reached its highest level in its 400 years of record keeping.?

So this is the insured loss estimate for Germany alone, so not including Austria, the Czech Republic or Hungary, which were all badly impacted by these floods. The event as a whole looks set to outstrip the insured losses from the 2002 flood event, however the impact to the insurance and reinsurance sector will be manageable as capitalisation and reinsurance protection levels are improved.

Some insurance-linked investments may be affected if they covered flood within Germany. We know of at least one ILS fund manager with exposure to flood risks through reinsurance contracts it has collateralized, however if there are any losses at all they are expected to be minimal to these investments.

Tagged as: capital markets, europe, flood cat bond, flood catastrophe bond, insured losses, reinsurance

Source: http://www.artemis.bm/blog/2013/06/20/air-puts-insured-losses-from-german-floods-at-up-to-eur-5-8-billion/

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